SARS operatives banned from wearing mufti on duty

The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris, has banned men of the Federal Special Anti-robbery Squad (FSARS) from wearing mufti while on duty and threatened to deal decisively with any member of the squad found violating rights of the citizens.

Speaking in Ibadan, Oyo State, yesterday through the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Adepoju Ilori, he assured that the squad would be reformed to meet citizens’ expectations.

He urged the people to give necessary information to the police commissioner through the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) whenever they found any of the SARS men acting unlawfully.

Ilori, whose team visited the detention facilities of the state command of SARS in Dugbe, Ibadan, said the team was carrying out the IGP’s order as a result of the directive from the presidency to checkmate the unlawful activities of the squad.He said as a result of the presidential directive, the IGP constituted a committee to address issues that stoked public outcry against SARS all over the country.

On their mission to Ibadan, he disclosed: “We started this in Lagos and Ogun where we interviewed almost 70 suspects and we found that these suspects were mostly armed robbers and kidnappers. We also made sure that we lectured our men on what they are supposed to know and do as FSARS. Their main function is to checkmate and bring armed robbery and kidnapers to book.”

The DCP stressed that the IGP ordered SARS men not to wear anything other than the police uniform while on duty. His words: “There is no way SARS can be carrying arms while wearing mufti because it will be hard for the public to distinguish between them and armed robbers. We have been telling them and also monitoring them to ensure strict compliance.”He noted that according to the Standard Operative Procedure (SOP), no SARS officer should tint his or her hair.